Taipei and Beijing, deadlocked over the so-called “1992 consensus,” are testing each other’s bottom lines with regard to the political foundation of their bilateral relations, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said, suggesting that Taiwan should keep communicating with its rival and try to build a bridge of mutual trust.
The bureau made the assessment and suggestions in a report to the legislature, prior to NSB Director-General Yang Kuo-chiang’s (楊國強) appearance at a legislative committee meeting today.
Summing up China’s response to President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) May 20 inaugural address, the bureau said that China thinks Tsai has taken “one step closer” to its version of the “1992 consensus,” but is not satisfied with her attempts to evade the “core meaning” of its definition of “one China” — that Taiwan and China belong to “one China.”
The “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted to making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese government that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
Even though Tsai is committed to conducting cross-strait relations based on the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution and relevant laws, regarding both the “mainland area” and the “Taiwan area” as integral parts of the ROC, Beijing remains suspicious of the Democratic Progressive Party’s pro-independence platform.
As there is insufficient trust between Taipei and Beijing, China would rather watch what the Tsai administration does than listen to what it says about cross-strait relations, the bureau said.
The Ministry of National Defense is expecting China to adopt a multifaceted strategy toward Taiwan, including political division, military threat and economic integration, while increasing pressure on Taiwan in the international community to stifle the nation’s efforts to broaden its international space, it said.
The bureau suggested that during the period of uncertainty, the government should stick to its principle of “more communication, no provocation and zero surprises” regarding China, making an effort to build a bridge of dialogue and mutual trust in the hope of restoring cross-strait negotiations and exchanges.
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